Battlefield 2042 Preview: Battlefield Portal Is A Love Letter To Fans
Battlefield 2042's mystery mode from Ripple Effect is Battlefield Portal, a mode that mashes together a number of classic games from the series.
Battlefield 2042 is already shaping up to be wildly different from its predecessors. It has 128-players, tornadoes, and no campaign - but what really sets it apart is a new mode being developed by Ripple Effect, formerly known as DICE LA. Battlefield 2042 will feature a mode called Battlefield Portal which essentially smashes together a bunch of Battlefield games into one collective experience. That's not all, though, as it doubles as a custom games experience where fans can make their own game modes (like gun game or melee only brawls) and live out all kinds of weird fantasies using the gameplay foundation of Battlefield 2042.
Fan-favorite maps will return in Battlefield 2042, fully remastered for 2042. As of right now, there are six maps planned for launch. Battlefield 1942's Battle of the Bulge and El Alamein, Bad Company 2's Arica Harbor and Valpriso, and Battlefield 3's Caspian Border and Noshar Canals will all be available at launch alongside 2042's set of maps. The maps have been rebuilt with new assets, allowing for 128-players and 4K/60FPS, but nothing totally new has been added to these maps besides implementing destructibility in 1942's maps. It's not just locations, though.
Guns, gadgets, vehicles and even the character models from these old games make a return in Battlefield Portal. It's as true to form as it can get without directly porting over these games on their own. DICE LA's work on Battlefield 2042 is enough for its own game as it has allowed players to make custom experiences within 2042. Although there's no real map editor, fans can use either a simple settings menu or a complex game logic editor to make their own unique game types.
Customization can be as simple as making a gun game mode, where it's built to force a new weapon on players after achieving a score threshold. It can also be as ridiculous as pairing up an entire team of EOD repair bots from Battlefield 3 against a team of other repair bots, enemies, or tanks. Players can even make the different eras of the franchise fight each other, putting WWII soldiers from 1942 against the hardened veterans of the future from 2042 with all of their respective weaponry and vehicles.
It's clear Battlefield 2042 is playing into nostalgia for longtime fans, but it doesn't feel cheap or pandering. The handful of unique modes that were shown demonstrate that this is about evolving the "Only in Battlefield" mantra. It's about letting players create their own experiences by hand, even going as far as leaving weapon balance in the hands of the fans. DICE noted that it's not doing much to balance the weaponry from different eras as it would prefer to let fans play with it themselves. It's an incredibly involved experience, allowing players to restrict weapons, adjust team sizes, and even control player mobility.
In theory, fans could create their own battle royale mode, too. It likely wouldn't be as nuanced or refined as it would be if it was made by DICE itself, but it is an option since Battlefield 2042's Hazard Zone mode isn't a battle royale itself. There are a lot of possibilities and DICE will continue to update Battlefield Portal in accordance to fan feedback, so it's possible there will be both new tools and more maps added in time which could unlock even more potential.
Battlefield 2042 is weaponizing nostalgia in a powerful way, allowing players to re-experience classic Battlefield as they remember it without the flaws of time to corrupt that experience. It also uses it to open up Battlefield into something beyond a standard military shooter, dipping its toes into the wackiness of Halo's beloved custom games. Whether or not this will be something fans latch on to in a big way remains to be seen, but the potential is there and only helps round out the value of Battlefield 2042.
Battlefield 2042 will release on October 22, 2021 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Screen Rant was invited to a virtual event for the purposes of this preview.